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respective

UK/ɹɪˈspɛktɪv/US/ɹɪˈspɛktɪv/
adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,112 of 15,258mostly writtenformal · an editor’s judgement

Respective means belonging to each one separately. Two people, two coats, and each takes their own.

The word exists to stop a sentence being ambiguous: they returned to their respective homes means each went to their own home, not that they shared one. It only ever appears before a plural noun, and it always needs at least two things to divide between. The adverb respectively does the same job for lists, matching two sequences in order, as in first and second prizes went to Ali and Sam respectively.

Definitions of respective

  1. 1adjectiverespectiveBelonging separately to each of the people or things mentioned.C1

    “The candidates set out their respective positions.”

Where it comes from

  1. Latin

    respectus

  2. Medieval Latin

    respectivus

  3. English, today

    respective

Borrowed from Medieval Latin respectivus, from Latin respectus. by surface analysis, en + respect + ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Academic English

Practise this word

respective in the wild

  • Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles.

    Military education and training

  • Envy ratio, in finance, refers to the ratio of the price paid by investors to the price paid by the management team for their respective shares of equity.

    Envy ratio

  • The Staatsexamina are both legally equivalent to a master's degree in the respective operating ranges.

    Staatsexamen

  • Clubs of top national leagues (Indian Super League and I-League) also participate in their respective state leagues, most often with youth or reserve teams.

    Indian State Leagues

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the respectus family

respect

respective — used about once every 4,196 pages · #9,112 · point at the bar for the others